Transgender & Gender Fluidity Update: Learnings from School Experiences and Recent Cases

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Program

12.00    LawSense Welcome

12.05    Chairperson’s Remarks

12.10    Legal Obligations Update and Case Studies: Understanding How the Law Has Been Applied and Learnings from School Experiences

Outline of Current Legal Rights and Obligations

• Outlining a School’s legal obligations to transgender or gender-fluid students
  • duty of care
  • state and federal anti-discrimination laws
  • conversion therapy laws
  • privacy and health records
  • mandatory reporting

Implementing Exceptions to a School’s Legal Obligations

• religious exceptions – implementing current law and understanding the implications of potential changes
• examining sport and other exceptions

Enrolment and Single Sex Schools

• Examining challenges in responding to gender issues in single sex schools, including enrolling a transitioning or gender fluid student
• Understanding what evidence you may require of gender inconsistent with a birth certificate

Conversion Therapy

• Examining the extent of restrictions imposed by conversion therapy and practical impacts on schools

Dealing with Challenging Scenarios Experienced by Schools

• How to deal with challenging scenarios in a manner that discharges the school’s legal obligations to students, parents/guardians, and the wider community
  • accommodating a student’s wishes regarding name changes, uniforms
  • change of names – should documents be updated and if so what documents?
  • conflicts between student and parent/guardian wishes
  • managing use of gender-segregated facilities (e.g., toilets, change rooms, dormitories etc.) and arrangements on school camps
  • accommodating students in gender specific classes in co-educational schools such as: sport; sex education; physical education; physical development; health
  • school sport – navigating duties, sport rules and exceptions
  • students undergoing hormone treatment
  • when to seek expert advice
• Including pronouns in staff emails

Skye Rose, Practice Leader, Moores

1.10      Break

1.20      Examining Implications for Schools of Recent Litigation by Young People Transitioning and Navigating Students with a Disability

• Examining recent cases where young people transitioning have commenced proceedings against their therapists/advisors including:
  • Langadinos’ case Australia
  • Cass Review, Interim Report UK
  • Tavistock clinic class action (UK)
  • Chloe Cole Case (US)

• Understanding implications for schools:
  • understanding the impacts of recent decisions on student consent
  • examining to what extent your facilitation of a student’s transitioning can expose you to potential claims later on
  • are you still liable even if you/ the student has been following the advice of external professionals?
• Navigating rights and obligations where the student has an intellectual impairment, disability, or is neurodiverse
• Exploring best practice policies to support student and manage emerging legal exposure

Steven Troeth, Partner, Gadens

2.20      Chairperson’s Remarks

2.25      Webinar Close

Skye Rose is a Practice Leader in the Corporate Advisory Team at Moores, where she leads the workplace relations, discrimination and child safety teams. Skye works predominately with clients in the education sector. Skye is recognised for her advocacy and thought-leadership. In 2023, Skye was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for service to the law. In 2019, she won the Lexology Legal Influencer Award for leading author for Employment – Australasia, and in 2015, Skye was named the Law Institute of Victoria’s Government Lawyer of the Year following her success in several high-profile discrimination cases.

Steven Troeth has extensive experience in the education sector, including acting for independent and Catholic schools. He advises on employment, student and parent issues, including staff and teacher disputes, discrimination, bullying, cyber and social media issues, enterprise agreements and contractual disputes.

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